Pumpkin Bean Soup

"A friend of mine makes a similar Southwestern-style soup using sweet potatoes, but I found that processing the potatoes takes a bit of extra work. I came up with the idea to use canned pumpkin and created this wonderful, thick, hearty soup that doesn't take a lot of effort to make. It's full of all that's good for you, so enjoy!"

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the bell pepper and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for an additional 2 minutes.

Pour in the pumpkin puree, black beans, corn, chicken broth, tomato sauce, and 1 teaspoon cilantro; season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a gentle boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

Garnish each bowl of soup with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream and additional cilantro, if desired.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Oct 06, 2008

I found this exact recipe on Recipezaar and love it! Although that recipe did not call for cilantro - it called for 1 tsp. curry, 1 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp cayenne - I would knock the cayenne back to 1/4 though...it was pretty spicy!! And I made it with fresh pumpkin - takes a little time to cut, peel, boil and mash the pumpkin - but tasted great and a nice way to use pumpkins this fall!

This sounds great, I like to use grated ginger (fresh) with pumpkin or winter squash.
A hint about cooking fresh pumpkin: cut in half scoop out the seeds (bake and eat the seeds) then place on oven safe pan with 1/2 inch water and roast in a 300 degrees till tender, brings out the flavor and when cooled a bit you just scoop out the pulp, NO PEELING! works for me every time.

This is a great soup with a few changes for my family. We used white beans, no corn, and with the suggestions of others added,1/2 tsp more cumin, 2 tsp fresh ginger, 2 tsp curry powder, and almost a 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper. Very tasty!

INCREDIBLE! I changed/added a few items as I was working with what I had on hand...used 1 cup frozen corn, chopped small fresh tomato and finally added 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar. As a garnish added a dolop of sour cream. This is a keeper! Thank you so much!

My husband and I loved this soup... with our own slight twists. I wanted to keep the soup more of a southwest style, so I did not add curry and ginger as other reviewers did. I added 2 tsp of cumin and replaced the tomato sauce with a large can of diced tomatoes. Added a little kick with cayenne and garnished the soup with sour cream instead of whipped cream. Delicious!

Very good! we used white beans instead of black beans, as another reviewer suggested. Also replaced the cumin with red curry. It was overall a great soup and i would definitely make it again! thanks for sharing!

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.